The Regulation of Phenotypic Plasticity of Eyespots in the Butterfly<i>Bicyclus anynana</i>

Brakefield, Paul M.; Kesbeke, Fanja; Koch, P. B.

doi:10.1086/286213

Cited by 122 publications

(46 citation statements)

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“…Previous studies, using hormone manipulation and artificial selection experiments, have demonstrated a functional role of pupal ecdysteroids in the regulation of wing pattern polyphenism, as well as genetic correlations between dynamics of ecdysteroid titres and wing pattern [18,23,34]. Combined, these findings strongly imply an additional level of regulation between the hormone signal and the response of the developmental pathways producing the wing pattern.…”

Section: (B) Phenotypic Responsesmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Experimental studies have linked each of these scenarios to polyphenisms, either by direct measurement of titres, titre regulators or sensitivity, or indirectly by hormone manipulation. Examples include Ecd titre changes linked to horn length in beetles [40]; morph-associated differences in JH dynamics in a wing-polymorphic crickets [39]; and differences in the timing of Ecd release between the two wing-pattern morphs of butterflies [18]. However, these studies typically concern the hormonal dynamics under only two environmental conditions, which makes it impossible to discern whether these hormonal changes are continuous or discrete.…”

Section: Discussion (A) Hormone Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Titres of the two seasonal morphs have similarly shaped curves and similar absolute values, but show a difference in timing of peak titres [18,23,34]. To compare hormone dynamics across temperature treatments, we estimated the timing of the peaks for Ecd and 20E by fitting, for each hormone separately, the function…”

Section: (D) Hormone Titresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Combined, these findings strongly imply an additional level of regulation between the hormone signal and the response of the developmental pathways producing the wing pattern. This regulation is likely to involve changes in the window of hormone sensitivity (for example by altered timing of Ecd receptor expression [12,18]). …”

Section: (B) Phenotypic Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Translating environmental gradients into discontinuous reaction norms via hormone signalling in a polyphenic butterfly

et al. 2010

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Polyphenisms-the expression of discrete phenotypic morphs in response to environmental variation-are examples of phenotypic plasticity that may potentially be adaptive in the face of predictable environmental heterogeneity. In the butterfly Bicyclus anynana, we examine the hormonal regulation of phenotypic plasticity that involves divergent developmental trajectories into distinct adult morphs for a suite of traits as an adaptation to contrasting seasonal environments. This polyphenism is induced by temperature during development and mediated by ecdysteroid hormones. We reared larvae at separate temperatures spanning the natural range of seasonal environments and measured reaction norms for ecdysteroids, juvenile hormones (JHs) and adult fitness traits. Timing of peak ecdysteroid, but not JH titres, showed a binary response to the linear temperature gradient. Several adult traits (e.g. relative abdomen mass) responded in a similar, dimorphic manner, while others (e.g. wing pattern) showed a linear response. This study demonstrates that hormone dynamics can translate a linear environmental gradient into a discrete signal and, thus, that polyphenic differences between adult morphs can already be programmed at the stage of hormone signalling during development. The range of phenotypic responses observed within the suite of traits indicates both shared regulation and independent, trait-specific sensitivity to the hormone signal.

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Section: (B) Phenotypic Responsesmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussion (A) Hormone Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (D) Hormone Titresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (B) Phenotypic Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Translating environmental gradients into discontinuous reaction norms via hormone signalling in a polyphenic butterfly

et al. 2010

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“…We argue that the organization of the eyespot pattern can be better visualized as a nested hierarchical module (i.e., modules within modules; ref. 5), wherein different levels of integration can be identified: (i) the whole eyespot pattern forms one level, because there is more interdependence among individual eyespots than between these and any other pattern elements; (ii) those eyespots on the same wing surface appear to be more strongly coupled than those on different wing surfaces, possibly in association with different ecological pressures (23,55); (iii) within a wing surface, eyespots in close vicinity tend to be more coupled than distant ones (e.g., the mutations Spotty and 3-4 each affect only two adjacent eyespots; see also ref. 5); (iv) in addition, our results demonstrate high potential for independent variation of eyespot size, and thus, some individuality at the single-eyespot level (see also refs.…”

Section: -49)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modularity, individuality, and evo-devo in butterfly wings

Beldade¹,

Koops²,

Brakefield³

2002

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

117

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Modularity in animal development is thought to have facilitated morphological diversification, but independent change of those traits integrated within a module might be restricted. Correlations among traits describe potential developmental constraints on evolution. These have often been postulated to explain patterns of morphological variation and have been examined theoretically but seldom analyzed experimentally. Here, we use artificial selection to explore the modular organization of butterfly wing patterns and the extent to which their evolution is constrained by the genetic correlations among repeated pattern elements. We show that, in Bicyclus anynana butterflies, despite the evidence that all eyespots are developmentally coupled, the response to selection for increased size of one individual eyespot can proceed in a manner largely independent from selection imposed on another eyespot. We argue that among-eyespot correlations are unlikely to have constrained the evolutionary diversification of butterfly wing patterns but might be important when only limited time is available for adaptive evolution to occur. The ease with which we have been able to produce independent responses to artificial selection on different eyespots may be linked to a legacy of natural selection favoring individuality. Our results are discussed within the context of the evolution of modularity and individuality of serially repeated morphological traits.

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Plasticity and constraints in development and evolution

Hodin

2000

J. Exp. Zool.

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Morphological similarities between organisms may be due to either homology or homoplasy. Homologous structures arise by common descent from an ancestral form, whereas homoplasious structures are independently derived in the respective lineages. The finding that similar ontogenetic mechanisms underlie the production of the similar structures in both lineages is not sufficient evidence of homology, as such similarities may also be due to parallel evolution. Parallelisms are a class of homoplasy in which the two lineages have come up with the same solution independently using the same ontogenetic mechanism. The other main class of homoplasy, convergence, is superficial similarity in morphological structures in which the underlying ontogenetic mechanisms are distinct. I argue that instances of convergence and parallelism are more common than is generally realized. Convergence suggests flexibility in underlying ontogenetic mechanisms and may be indicative of developmental processes subject to phenotypic plasticity. Parallelisms, on the other hand, may characterize developmental processes subject to constraints. Distinguishing between homology, parallelisms and convergence may clarify broader taxonomic patterns in morphological evolution.

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The Regulation of Phenotypic Plasticity of Eyespots in the ButterflyBicyclus anynana

Cited by 122 publications

References 2 publications

Translating environmental gradients into discontinuous reaction norms via hormone signalling in a polyphenic butterfly

Translating environmental gradients into discontinuous reaction norms via hormone signalling in a polyphenic butterfly

Modularity, individuality, and evo-devo in butterfly wings

Plasticity and constraints in development and evolution

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